


And All for One

by The3rdTrumpeteer



Series: Refuge and Remedies [6]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, race/davey if you squint, so it can be read as friendship or pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 13:32:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14749805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The3rdTrumpeteer/pseuds/The3rdTrumpeteer
Summary: They've won the strike, and everyone's home where they're supposed to be.But that doesn't mean that everyone's okay.-Les learns how to play poker, Crutchie's sense of humor is intact, and Race and Davey have a heart-to-heart.





	And All for One

**Author's Note:**

> this is a sequel piece to One for All!

Since he had watched Crutchie get dragged off to the Refuge a few days before, Davey hadn’t been able to sleep, worried about his friend and hoping desperately that Crutchie really was as strong as everyone said he was.

So when Crutchie limped into the square at the end of the strike, head held high and a triumphant smile on his face despite the shadow of a black eye and bruises still visible, Davey could feel a small grin tugging at his own lips.

They had really done it. They had won.

-

The mood in the lodging house that night was lighter that night than it had been in days. For once, Davey had accepted Jack’s offer to hang out in the lodging house for a bit after everyone finished selling, and so now there he was, sitting on the floor with Race, Mush, Les, and Blink, while Race tried to teach Les how to play poker. Davey had played a few times with his father, but Les was completely new to the game...and he wasn’t very good at it.

“Davey.” Les nudged him. “I think I have good cards!”

“That’s great,” Davey replied with a smile. “But you don’t have to tell me that. You can just bet if you think they’re good.”

“Oh. Okay.” Les, obviously still not completely understanding the concept of the game, pushed all his coins to the middle of the circle and handed his cards to Race, who was trying (and failing) to stifle a laugh. “Here are my cards! Are they good? Did I win?”

“Yeah, kid, you sure did,” Race said, grinning. Mush was laughing into Blink’s shoulder, and Blink’s perfect poker face was actually cracking.

They played a few more rounds before Davey put down his cards. 

“I think that’s enough poker for me tonight,” he said. Race looked disappointed.

“You leavin’, Mouth?” He asked. “I think your brother’s gettin’ the hang of the game.”

“No, we’re staying a little longer. I just want to check on Crutchie.” Davey stood up and stretched before making his way across the bunkroom, where Jack and Crutchie were sitting on Crutchie’s bed. Crutchie had his bad leg stretched out in front of him, but he was smiling as he talked to Jack, who just stared at Crutchie the way he did at Les, with a mix of love and protectiveness.

“Hey, Davey!” Crutchie motioned for him to sit down, and Davey did, careful not to jostle his friend’s leg. “I was just teasin’ Jack here about his new girlfriend.”

“At least yer honest.” Jack’s expression was one of mock anger that immediately softened when Crutchie started laughing. Davey laughed, too.

“I’m just glad you’re staying here, Jack.” He said, reaching over Crutchie’s leg to put a hand on Jack’s. “Better here with us than there in Santa Fe with the tarantulas, right?”

“Heh, yeah.” Jack sighed and leaned back against the bedframe. He turned to Crutchie. “You think yer up to sellin’ tomorrow?”

Crutchie nodded enthusiastically. “Definitely. I keep tellin’ ya, Jack, it’s just a few bumps and bruises. Nothin’ a good night’s sleep can’t fix.”

“Good to hear.” Jack patted Crutchie’s leg gently before standing up. “Speakin’ of sleep, I think it’s about time for all of us to hit the hay. You and Les stayin’ here tonight, Davey?”

Davey shook his head. “No, we’d better be getting home. See you guys in the morning.”

“‘Night, Davey,” Crutchie said.

“I’ll walk you and Les out.” Jack slung an arm around Davey’s shoulders. “I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for all your help. You really stepped up when I couldn’t, y’know?”

Davey let out a nervous laugh. “That’s what friends are for, Jack. Besides, you didn’t exactly give me a choice. I couldn’t exactly give up when we still had to get our great leader back, could I?”

Now Jack laughed. “Yeah. Alright, you grab Les.”

Davey crossed to the corner of the room, where Les was still playing poker with Race. Mush and Blink seemed to have folded a while ago, and they were both sitting on Mush’s bed a few feet away, deep in conversation.

“Alright, Les, we gotta go home,” Davey said, putting a hand on his little brother’s shoulder. Les groaned.

“But Davey,” he protested. “I was winning!”

Davey shot a glance at Race, who grinned.

“Definitely won,” the other newsie said with a wink. “‘Bout beat me out of all my change.”

“I bet. C’mon, Les.” Davey tugged Les to his feet. “If you don’t go to sleep soon, you’re not gonna want to wake up in the morning.”

“Yeah, okay.” Les yawned.

Davey smiled. “Let’s get you to bed.” He started to steer Les toward the door, but then someone grabbed his arm. He looked back to see Race standing there, an uncomfortable expression on his face.

“Before ya leave,” he said, “could I, uh...I just need to...talk to you real quick?”

Immediately Davey nodded. “Of course. But I need to get Les home-”

“I’ll take him,” Jack interrupted. He turned to Les. “You want a piggyback ride home?”

“Yeah!” Les hopped onto Jack’s back, and the two of them left laughing.

Race squeezed Davey’s arm again. “So…”

“Yeah, let’s go talk.”

Now that everyone else was in the bunkroom, it was easy to find an empty space. They ended up on the fire escape.

“I, um…” Race swallowed. “I just wanted to say thanks, y’know, for the things you said the other day. I was in a bad spot. With Crutchie gettin’ arrested and the fight...it wasn’t the best time.”

“It’s okay to feel that way,” Davey said. He put his hand on Race’s and was pleased when he didn’t pull away. “You were worried about him, and all that happening brought up some bad memories.”

“Yeah, I…” Race’s voice was quieter now. “I was real worried about ‘im. It’s just...that place. It wasn’t good. The farthest thing from it.”

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No. I want to. It’s been so long since it happened, and this whole strike brought everything back. If I don’t talk about it now…” Race sighed. “I think I might explode.”

Davey squeezed Race’s hand. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“The...the first time I was in the Refuge, I was eight, I think. Loiterin’. They let me out after a coupl’a weeks, but they was prob’ly the worst two weeks of my life.” Race let out a mirthless chuckle. “They’s not too nice in there, Davey...even ta little kids.”

“Race-” Davey started, but Race waved him off.

“It’s fine, Davey. Anyways...the second time they got me, I was ‘round thirteen. Arrested for stealin’ an apple for Romeo. I was s’posed to be in there six months that time, but Jack managed to get me out after a month and a half. But...it was bad, Davey. Real bad.

“When you’s little, they don’t pay much attention to ya if you don’t make much trouble. But Snyder...Snyder likes the older kids, ‘specially the ones who put up a fight. And at the beginnin’, I fought like hell. But he…he just...after awhile, I stopped fighting. If Jack hadn’t gotten me out when he did…”

Race was shaking now, and when Davey looked over, he saw the tears streaming down his friend’s face. Before he could stop himself, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Race, who stiffened a little before melting into the embrace. 

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Davey whispered, and he was surprised that his voice wavered a bit. “That should never happened. It’s evil. Snyder’s evil. That place is evil.”

“That’s why I was so worried ‘bout Crutchie,” Race sniffled. “Yeah, he’s strong, but a nice kid like him? Snyder would break ‘im in a minute. It’s a miracle he came out in one piece.”

“But he did, and that’s what matters.” Davey held Race a little tighter. “And now he’s never gonna go back there. And neither are you or anyone else. The Refuge is closed forever, Race. It’s closed. You’re safe.”

“I’m...I’m safe,” Race repeated. More tears streamed down his face. “I’m safe.”

“You’re safe.”

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr: http://poorguysheadisdoingwhatnow.tumblr.com/


End file.
